Chapter 17
T
he night after Sereeta got back from the locker room, she wanted to tell Corey what had happened. She even started to but then changed the course of her conversation. She wanted him to know how France had treated her, but she realized she didn't want to ruffle anyone's feathers. It was awkward enough at times being around the guysâshe didn't want to make it any worse by being labeled a tattletale. She also didn't want to tell him what the guys were saying about him. Corey seemed like a pretty laid-back guy, but for all she knew he could have an uncontrollable temper.
Sereeta didn't want any problems. She was thankful that things had still been going pretty well with the job; she had gotten the hang of her duties and begun a pretty smooth routine. Corey seemed pleased with her work ethic and style, and they seemed to mesh well. He still wasn't very talkative with her, but she didn't mind so much. It seemed as if he'd had a bad experience in the past getting too friendly with his employees or something and was trying to keep it professional. Most of the time when the two of them were alone, they sat in silence or they watched television in the car or listened to music. He didn't seem to care too much about her life outside her job or what her thoughts were about her job. He had a job for her to do, he expected her to do it, and he didn't seem to expect much more.
Sereeta didn't mind their lack of friendship mainly because it kept her on her toes. She was always eager to get her job done efficiently because she didn't know what to expect from him. She knew it was probably best they kept things this way so that there were no blurry lines as to what was what, and there were no drunken nights after partying where something could happen between the two of them. There were times when she wondered if he didn't like her, especially when she would see him on the phone laughing and seeming so happy, and then he would hang up and just be quiet around her. Over time, though, she figured if he didn't like her, he would have let her go a while ago.
Corey told Sereeta to drop off at his house the clothes he had asked her to pick up at the dry cleaner's. He would more than likely be gone by the time she got there, but she wasn't staying long either way. She then had to run to the mall and purchase another iPod for him and some Bose headphones. As far as she knew, that was all he needed her to do for the day, but most days he would call her at the last minute to let her know something else had come up, so she wasn't getting excited about a free evening just yet.
The funny thing with her job was she was never technically off the clock. There were days she would have to do things for him till ten o'clock at night, but then there were times she was off for three days straight. She liked the flexibility; she loved not being confined to a desk or an office; she enjoyed being able to shop and travel and get paid for it. She knew most people thought her job was cool because she worked for such a rich person and got to hang out with all these rich athletes, but the best part about it had nothing to do with who her boss was.
She sometimes wished she could have the same job but work for a woman. She didn't mind working for Corey, but being around so many men all the time was just intimidating. It didn't help that most of them didn't have all that much respect for women, so on top of having to hear stories she didn't care to hear, she had to be subjected to some of their egos. One of the team managers referred to her as “Corey's groupie” once; another time, a teammate had asked her “When Corey is done, can I be next?” On both occasions, Sereeta had ignored it, almost as if she were walking down the street and would never see these people again. Yet in this situation she saw them all the time. Corey actually spoke to the manager about what the teammate had said. She hadn't been the one to spill the beansâshe didn't want to start any drama and risk having Corey rethink hiring her, so she let it be. In the end she was happy he had stood up for her.
When she reached Corey's house, his driver was waiting outside to bring him to the stadium. Sereeta walked up to the doorstep and noticed the door was cracked open. She slowly pushed the door open and walked inside. At first, she didn't see Corey or any of his belongings. She walked farther inside the house and closed the door partially behind her, as she had found it. The brown and cream runner carpet that led from the doorway into the living room was a bit crooked, she noticed. She bent down to straighten it up. Just as she went to stand back up, she heard footsteps. Corey was walking toward her.
“Hey, are you a bit early?” he said.
“Just a bit. I finished up at the stadium and came straight here.”
“Why don't you drop my things upstairs and ride over with me?” he said.
“Back to the stadium?”
“Yeah, watch the game. Chill for the night. I'll put you in the skybox.”
“Uh . . . uh . . . OK,” she said.
“You can invite a friend to meet you there, if you like.”
Sereeta had been working for him for quite some time but hadn't yet really enjoyed any perksâat least not any that people expected her to get. She'd had a few drop-offs and pick-ups by limos and a few free NBA T-shirts, but nothing really special. Sereeta was beginning to think he just wanted her to see that this was a job and not recreational. This was the first time he had offered to do something this nice for her, and she was beyond excited.
She ran upstairs, dropped off his things, and headed back down to the truck where Corey waited. She stepped inside the car, and Corey looked over at her; he looked less scary tonight for some reason.
“Thanks,” she said.
“No problem. You work hard, so you deserve a night off.”
“I appreciate that,” she replied.
“Tell your friend their pass will be at will-call.”
“Oh, yeah,” she said as she pulled out her cell phone.
She began to text Reyna to let her know the plans and see if she could join her. Once she finished the text, she placed her phone in her lap and looked out the window. The radio was tuned to Drama 99 FM, and Corey was bopping his head slowly to the new Ludacris song playing. As usual, the car ride was a bit quiet, aside from the music and the muffled sounds from the street outside.
Once they got to the stadium, Sereeta followed Corey through the players' entrance.
“You are going to be sitting in the box with the other players' guests, their families, and friends.”
“OK.”
“You can leave and come back if you would likeâyou will just need this pass,” he said as he handed her a square-shaped pass that read SKYBOX #12 on it.
“I will more than likely be here to the end.”
“OK, and your guest's pass and ticket are at will-call under your name, but I just remembered they are going to ask for ID, so you can either go down and meet him at will-call or I can call and have it switched.”
“It's not a him,” she said.
She didn't know why she cared to correct him, and she was just as unsure why he was willing to go through all this trouble for her.
“Well, heâsheâwhoever,” he said as he kept walking.
“You can change the name to Reyna Benton. I'm not sure exactly what time she's getting here.”
“No problem.”
They continued down the hall and could hear the noise and voices from the announcer speaking and the fans in the stadium. After a few moments they reached an elevator. There was no one standing by the elevator except a security guard. Once they reached it, the guard used a key card to open the doors. Sereeta followed behind Corey as they entered the box. She had to admit that having Corey Cox escort her to the skybox felt surreal; she was trying not to show her excitement, but she was definitely feeling it.
Once they reached the top level to the stadium, they stepped off the elevator. The floor was carpeted, the lights were dim, and the people were dressed up. They looked more like the guests at a social mixer and not fans at a basketball game. There were bars along the back wall and waiters walking around with hot plates. Sereeta just followed behind Corey down the corridor, passing box after box. As they walked, different people pointed at Corey, and some spoke, and he quietly spoke back. As she glimpsed inside some of the skyboxes, she noticed white men in business suits, a few young black kids, and a few well-dressed ladies. She tried to figure out how all of them had gotten their tickets and who they were. She felt special knowing that everyone knew how she'd gotten hers and who she wasâwell, maybe not who she was, but who they thought she was. She had to admit it felt awfully nice being Corey Cox's special someone, even if just for one night.
Once they reached Skybox #12, there were a few others sitting down. Corey walked in, and everyone stood up to greet him.
“This is Sereeta, everyone. She will be joining you this evening. If she needs anything please take care of her.”
Sereeta stood there in amazement. She wasn't his “assistant” tonight, she was Sereeta, and he had asked that whatever Sereeta needed, please take care of it. She felt her heart drop at his kindness; he looked more appealing to her than he ever had. She wondered if she was dressed up enough to play the part. She hadn't planned to come to the game, let alone to be in the skybox as Corey's date, so she wasn't dressed the way she would've planned to. She had on a gray turtleneck tunic and some leggings with some black flat boots. She was carrying her black Gucci bag, and her hair was in a bun with a bang. She looked casually cute, and she guessed she looked good enough for Corey not to clarify that she was only his assistant.
“Hello, Sereeta,” the folks in the room said.
“Hi,” she said as she stepped closer to Corey.
“Sit wherever you would like. Save a seat for your friend, and I'll see you later tonight or tomorrow,” Corey said as he moved out of her way so she could head toward the seats.
“Thanks, Corey, I appreciate everything,” she said.
“No problem,” he said as he walked off.
That was typical of Corey to show no emotion. Despite how sweet he had been by doing all this for her, he had walked off with no more than his signature “no problem.” Somewhere in her imagination she imagined him kissing her good-bye and holding on to her hand until he couldn't hold on anymore. That would be just the ideal ending to the night, but it was just a thought. There was nothing whatsoever between her and Corey, and she didn't want there to be, and he had made it very clear that neither did he.
Once he left, she began to watch the pregame festivities. The people looked so far away from where she sat, she couldn't believe these were considered VIP seats. She noticed the big screen directly in front of her and began to watch from there. Reyna had texted her a while ago when she was in the car and said she was going to be heading to the stadium within fifteen minutes or so, so if Sereeta calculated correctly, Reyna would be there before the game started or early into the first quarter.
Sereeta looked around the room subtly to see if she recognized anyone, but no one looked familiar. There were two guys in their midtwenties, a woman maybe in her forties, and two white men in their thirties dressed down in jeans and sneakers. There was nothing that gave away who any of these people were, but because Corey had said it was the box for friends and family of the team, Sereeta figured these people were just that. One of the guys in their twenties approached Sereeta as she looked around the box trying to see everything inside.
“Hi, my name is Mark,” the young man said as he sat down.
“Hi, Mark,” she replied.
“My brother plays for the Knicks.”
“Oh, that's cool. I'm a guest of Corey's.”
“Yeah, I know. I was here when you guys walked in. I wasn't stepping on any toes.”
Sereeta just smirked at him, not knowing what else to say and not wanting to admit that she was just his assistant.
“Oh, OK. Well, enjoy the game,” he said as he put his drink in his other hand.
“You don't have to run away,” Sereeta blurted out as she noticed Mark standing up.
He looked back at her to examine her facial expression. Sereeta was trying to remain relaxed and not let him see that she was a bit uncomfortable and nervous.
“You sure?” he asked.
“Yes, I'm sure,” she said, throwing him her sexy smile.
She realized she had wanted him and others to think she was Corey's special girl, but she quickly realized how letting Mark walk away was just stupid. Here she could be meeting the man of her dreams, and she was letting him walk away so she could give off some false impression of being with someone she wasn't. Even crazier was that he could easily find out that she was just his assistant. She decided to stop living in fantasy land; Corey was gone somewhere in the locker room, and she was sitting alone. Mark was a handsome guy, and she could use the company until Reyna showed up, at least.
“I don't want any problems with Corey Cox.”